So many ANBU gathered here—it was clearly not for a card game or a late-night LAN party.
There could only be one reason.
This was Uzumaki Kushina's delivery room.
Though everything had been kept top secret until now, relaxing security around the birthing chamber at such a crucial moment in the name of secrecy would be the real stupidity.
When Nara Kazuki saw Jiraiya, he was more convinced than ever—this was indeed the location of Kushina's labor.
Kazuki pressed his lips together, nervous. Now was the time to reap the fruits of all their preparation.
Whether or not they could change the events of the Night of the Nine-Tails hinged on what happened tonight.
"Something's off. There's a group of people over there," Kakashi suddenly said. Kazuki narrowed his eyes, peering into the distance. On the far side of their position, silhouettes moved.
They looked like shinobi.
"On alert!" a voice barked—one of the ANBU commanders, and Kazuki recognized him. He was the general-in-command for this operation.
A moment later, the figures dashed forward in classic shinobi formation—signaling the start of the battle.
Kazuki didn't hesitate. His hands formed seals as he summoned his Shadow Clone for the day. The clone took position at his original spot.
He hadn't planned on personally charging in, but with enemy shinobi initiating the attack, their defending ANBU unit had no choice.
Jiraiya hadn't moved—still standing in the rear—but his Sage Mode was now active.
"Left flank's mine," Kazuki muttered, sprinting and forming seals in tandem with Kakashi, whose speed pushed Kazuki's own to match.
In an instant, a massive Great Fire Dragon Technique ignited the night sky. Twin fire dragons roared and intertwined, their blaze illuminating the battlefield. Without pause, Kazuki spun and launched a Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, the flames slamming into the ground. The chakra feedback told him he'd killed at least three enemy shinobi.
He didn't celebrate. He grew even more alert.
Whether Obito was behind this or not, these enemy nin had disappointing power levels.
They were clearly...
Cannon fodder.
"You!" a furious voice snarled, and a wall of flames surged toward Kazuki. A Wind Style jutsu from the rear fanned the fire, increasing its speed and intensity.
A Mud Wall rose just in time. It didn't stop the rage-fueled flames, but it gave Kazuki the window to escape. He dodged, only to run right into the attack zone of another Fireball Jutsu.
"Damn it, they're swarming everywhere." He cursed under his breath and used a Substitution Jutsu to escape the inferno.
Barely finding footing, he spotted a shuriken spinning toward his chest—tagged with an Explosive Tag.
His time in ANBU had sharpened him. He was adapting to life as a shinobi.
Kazuki drew his sword—imbued with Wind Release—and slashed. The blade cleaved through the explosion mid-air, splitting fire with wind. And behind that blaze—charging fast—was a figure.
Kakuzu.
Of course. Few rogue shinobi had both the guts and the strength to go up against ANBU from the Hidden Leaf.
"Katon!" Kazuki saw Kakuzu weaving hand signs, so he began forming seals too, letting his blade drop to the ground.
There was cruelty in Kakuzu's eyes.
Moments earlier, he had blended into the charging group, boasting to some unlucky fool about his past—"I fought the First Hokage"—when the Fire Dragon jutsu had lit up the sky. Kakuzu, caught mid-bluster, vomited out his dinner in front of everyone.
Shame burned hotter than the jutsu. Kakuzu was both furious and humiliated.
Though the Fire Dragon had wiped out a few unlucky grunts, others had survived, and their survival only deepened his wrath. He hurled a Head Hunter Jutsu toward Kazuki, casually killing two more of the "lucky" survivors on the side.
"Want to outpace me in hand seals?" Kakuzu's hands were almost finished.
But in the next instant, his eyes went wide.
The Leaf ANBU before him—Kazuki—completed a full hand seal sequence in a flash, the speed absurd. A massive Fireball surged toward him.
In that brief moment, Kakuzu could almost hear whispering—the voices of those he'd slaughtered in the past.
But he didn't flinch. He just smiled cruelly.
Ghosts or not, he could kill them all over again.
His hand seals completed—but before he could cast the jutsu, a bolt of lightning ripped across the battlefield.
Kakuzu frowned, instinctively moving to dodge—but he couldn't.
His body refused to move.
A shadow had stretched from Kazuki, binding him in place.
"Nara..." Kakuzu growled, recognizing the clan's signature technique. He surged chakra, trying to break free—but his left foot twisted grotesquely, his ankle snapping under the strain.
But it had bought just enough time.
"Shame," Kazuki muttered, watching Chidori pierce through wooden cover and Kakuzu reappear behind it, unharmed.
The killing move had failed.
Kazuki didn't hesitate—he launched a Great Fire Dragon upward, the massive beast soaring. Kakuzu staggered, clutching his head as a wave of dizziness and nausea overtook him.
Kazuki was preparing to coordinate with Kakashi for another combo attack when something shifted.
He turned.
Behind him, a strange half-skeletal humanoid raised a blade, slamming it downward.
Jiraiya's toad met the strike head-on, blocking it.
Susanoo.
"..." Kazuki said nothing.
Obito had appeared after all.
But this time, his arrival might change things in unexpected ways. Most obviously—the manifestation of Susanoo, the Uchiha Clan's most iconic dōjutsu technique.
"Switch!" Kazuki immediately swapped places with his Shadow Clone. The chakra he'd spent earlier returned in full, and now, from his new position, he could clearly see the figure inside Susanoo.
Uchiha Obito, masked, cold-eyed. At his side, the body of an elderly woman crumpled to the floor.
Sarutobi Biwako was dead.
Kazuki's expression tightened.
If Obito had come alone, it might be manageable. But the cannon fodder outside proved otherwise—he was preparing something more.
Obito had backup. There was more to come.